I want to lose weight. Should I track minutes, miles or steps on my walk?

Getting out for a walk is one of the best steps you can take for your health. It may just be the easiest way to get a cardiovascular workout that boosts your metabolism, burns calories and improves your mood.

And while any walking you can squeeze into your day is great, if it is your main form of exercise, having a measurement to track your progress is key for continued growth.

As with any exercise, tracking your progress helps you stay motived and see concrete gains in your health and fitness. It allows you to set realistic goals and know when to adjust your workout routine if you aren't seeing the results you desire. Without tracking, there is no way to tell when it's time to increase the intensity or duration of your workout to keep seeing progress. Because of this, a lack of tracking often leads to plateaus in weight loss and performance.

It can be hard to know what exactly you should be tracking if walking is your exercise of choice. Is it best to walk for a certain distance, time or number of steps?

Benefits of tracking minutes walked

To reap the proven health benefits of walking, it's advised to walk at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace. I personally love tracking my walks by time because it's a very clearcut way to see your physical fitness improve. If you start by committing to walking 5 minutes a day, you may find that a week later it feels easier to get through those 5 minutes, you are walking a further distance, and your body feels physically ready to walk for a longer timeframe! Then you can increase your walking time to 10 minutes a day and slowly build from there. While you are tracking your time spent walking, it is very likely other metrics like your speed, distance and number of steps, will also increase.

If walking for 30 minutes is too challenging, start with 10-minute increments, three times a day. Or start with just a 10-15 minute walk and slowly increase your walking time from there until you reach 30 minutes (or more!).

Benefits of tracking steps while walking

Hitting a step goal creates a sense of accomplishment, which can be really motivating, especially if you have a competitive streak. Aiming for a daily step goal is a smart way to keep yourself motivated to squeeze in movement throughout the day, which is often easier for people to adhere to than having to set aside a chunk of time for exercising. And research show it works: Studies have suggested that tracking your steps leads to a more active lifestyle that decreases the development of certain health issues.

However, it’s important to note that the ideal daily-step total is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Walking 10,000 steps a day is a common benchmark people aim for, but studies have shown that it’s possible to reap the benefits of walking with less steps than the standard 10,000 a day. In fact, one study found that walking just 4,000 steps a day was enough to reap cardiovascular benefits and reduce the progression of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

That's why I always encourage people to not get caught up in a buzzy number and instead consider your own fitness level and lifestyle and set a step goal that works for you. It's also important to reassess your goal every so often, especially if you are constantly coming up short and it leaves you feeling discouraged. I once had a client who set a daily goal of 10,000 steps a day, but consistently fell short at 8,000 steps. She would go to bed feeling defeated. We decided to lower her step goal to 7,500 so that she felt successful at the end of the day and once she did this for two weeks, she consistently exceeded the 7,500 steps and regularly hit 10,000 steps!

Benefits of tracking miles walked

If you do not have an easy way to track steps or feel motivated by walking a certain distance, tracking miles can be an excellent method of getting your steps in. A five-mile walk equates to about 10,000 steps, which is a great goal for those looking to establish an active, healthy lifestyle. But remember: Any amount of movement is better than nothing!

It can also provide a nice way to unplug while walking. If you know that one loop around the block equals one mile, then five rounds around the block equate to five miles and about 10,000 steps. It can also be an easier goal to hit: No matter how long it takes you (some days you may be slower or faster than others) or how many steps you take (some days you may take longer strides than others), you know without a doubt that you walked a specific distance, which can feel very gratifying.

As with any metric you are tracking, it's important to reassess your distance goal regularly and adjust it to keep seeing progress. I always encourage those at the beginning of their walking journey to start with one mile. If that’s challenging enough, stick to this distance for a week or two. Then, increase your mileage goal by another half of a mile. Over time, you should notice the distance become easier to complete and you will finish it more quickly, and see your distance walked steadily increase.

Minutes vs. steps vs. miles: Which tracking method is best when walking for weight loss?

In my professional experience working with weight-loss clients, setting a daily time goal proves the most successful for those walking to lose weight. This is for two reasons. First, it ensures you are setting aside dedicated time to exercise, versus accumulating steps throughout the day. Having this dedicated time each day to de-stress and focus solely on walking has mental health benefits, too — and our mental health plays a huge role in weight-loss success. Second, by walking for a set time you are easily able to track progress and push yourself further as you get more fit, versus limiting yourself to a certain number of steps or miles.

I never want to discourage people from setting a step goal and finding ways to get movement in throughout the day. This can be hugely helpful for overall health, especially if you work a desk job and are sedentary for large periods of time. But, I have also seen step goals provide a false sense of activity by having people believe they don’t need to exercise since they are hitting a certain number of steps during the day. Regardless of your daily step count, it’s still important to set aside dedicated time for cardiovascular exercise that gets your heart up. Those steps throughout the day are a bonus. And while tracking miles is exciting and can give you a clearcut route to walk, if you don’t have the time or energy to hit that distance goal, it can be easier to make excuses to skip your walk.

Therefore, tracking minutes is what I recommend to my weight-loss clients. It creates a dedicated time where they focus on exercising, and gives them the ability to tailor their speed and distance based on where they are physically and mentally. A 30-minute walk can look different based on where you’re at that day: It can be leisurely and focus on your mental health or it can be packed with intervals that get your heart rate up and burn calories.

All this being said, at the end of the day a successful fitness plan (and the way we track that progress) looks different for everyone! We have many members of our Start TODAY community that are losing weight, boosting energy and feeling better than ever thanks to tracking steps or miles. If you feel motivated by the goal of hitting a certain number of steps each day, then that method may prove best for you. Other people are very motivated by mile challenges or like the simplicity of logging a certain number of miles each day or week. So track in the way that feels best for you and motivates you to keep walking consistently.